and by thise causes / we axen deliberacioū / and we shal ~
thanne by the grace of god / conseille thee thyng / that shal be profitable ~
¶ Vp stirten thanne / the yonge folk atones / and the mooste partie of that com-
paignye scorned the olde wise men and bigonnen to make noyse / and sey-
den / that
70
rigħt so / as whil that Iren is hoot men sholden smyte / ; rigħt
so / men sholde wreken hir wronges / whil þt they been fressħe and newe ~
and with loud voys / they criden werre / werre
¶ Vp roos tho / oon of thise
olde wise / and with his hand made contenaunce / that men sholde holden
hem stille and yeuen hym Audience
¶ Lordynges quod he / ther is ful
many a man / that crieth werre werre / that woot ful litel what werre ~
amounteth
¶ werre at his bigynnyng hath so greet an entryng and so
large / that euery wigħt may entre whan hym liketh / and lightly fynde
werre /
but c
ertes
/ what ende that shal ther of bifalle
/ it is nat light to
knowe
75
For soothly
/ whan
þt werre is ones bigonne
/ ther is ful many
a child vnborn of his mooder
/ that shal sterue yong
by cause of that
ilke werre
/ or elles lyue in sorwe
/ and dye in wrecchednesse
.
And ther
fore / er þt any werre bigynne / men moste haue greet conseil and greet
deliberacioū
¶ And whan this olde man / wende / to enforcen his tale by
resons / wel ny alle atones / bigonne they to rise for to breken his tale ~
and beden hym ful ofte / hise wordes for to abregge /
for soothly / he that
percheth to hem / that listen nat heeren hise wordes / his sermon hem anoieth
¶ For Ih
ūs Syrak seith
/ that Musik
in wepynge is anoyous thyng
. this
is to seyn
As muche auailleth to speken bifore folk
/ to whiche his spe-
che anoyeth
/ as it is to synge
/ biforn hym that wepeth
.
80
And this wise
man / saugħ that hym wanted Audience / and al shamefast he sette
hym doun agayn
¶ For Salomon seith
ther as thou ne mayst haue
noon Audience enforce thee nat to speke
¶ I see wel quod this wise
man
/ þt the c
ōmune
prou
erbe is sooth
That good conseil wanteth
/ whan
it is moost
¶ Yet hadde this Melibeus in his conseil / many folk that
piuely in his eere conseilled hym certeyn thyng. and conseilled hym the
contrarie in general Audience
Whan Melibeus hadde herd / that the
gretteste partie of his conseil / weren accorded þt he sholde maken werre /
anoon / he consented to hir conseillyng and fully affermed hir sentence ~
85
Thanne dame Prudence / whan þt she saugħ / how that hir housbonde
shoope hym / for to wreken hym on hise foes / and to bigynne werre ; she
in ful humble wise / whan she saugħ hir tyme / seide to hym thise wor-
des
¶ My lord quod she / I yow biseche as hertely as I dar and kan /
ne haste yow nat to faste / And for alle gerdons / as yeueth me Audience
¶ For Piers Alfonce seith ¶ Who so that dooth to that oother good or harm / haste
thee nat to quiten it. for in this wise thy freend wole abyde / and thyn ene-
my shal the lenger lyue in drede
¶ The prou
erbe seith
he hasteth wel
that wisely kan abyde
And in wikked haste
/ is no
profit
This Melibee
answerde vn to his wyf Prudence ¶ I purpose nat quod he to werke
by thy conseil / for many causes and resoūs ¶ For certes / euery wigħt wol-
de holde me thanne a fool
90
¶ this is to seyn If .I. for thy conseillyng
wolde chaungen thynges that been ordeyned and affermed by so ma-
nye wyse
¶ Secoundely I seye / that alle wōmen been wikke / & noon
good of hem alle ¶ For of a thousand men seith Salomon / I foond a good mā